Good Friday

Today for many Christians they acknowledge the death of Jesus on the cross but fail to see the saving grace that the cross offers to each of us. The revelation of God through this death, the brutal crucifixion, is our reminder that through an unbelievable level of pain comes an opportunity for us to really see God.

By suffering with Jesus and seeing our own pain we rise again to a better life with God. Bearing the pain is the ultimate truth of our relationship with God. Jesus died for us on the cross but he died on many levels and we can find God through this death in many ways. That is the beauty of the scriptures and the various gospels we have to ponder. Each writer shares with us a different way to be present with the eyewitnesses of that day.

The re-discovering of the events of Good Friday and pondering this death on this day is a perennial event (N.T. Wright: The Challenge of Easter). With each layer unveiled one can see more clearly that Jesus is God and faithfully celebrate the empty tomb.

Bring yourself to the foot of the cross and see it in all your pain. Bring your ego and your stresses to the foot of the cross and let Jesus bear it for you. In this, the finding of your personal relationship with Jesus, you will celebrate the empty tomb and the resurrection of God in your life. This is a blessed day.

Later on Good Friday....

I just returned from the morning service where we shared in the loss and death of Jesus on the cross. As we bear our burdens and bring them to the cross it is there we find Jesus in his fullest. As he suffers for us on our behalf, we are reminded why he died on the cross for us. We can better understand through the Good Friday experience what it means that he "died for our sins". We can witness and leave our burdens there as we wait on Saturday for the Risen Lord to return to us in his divinity and bringing to us God's love.

It is through my study of scripture, theologically thinking it through, sharing it with others through means like this blog and my own sharing of God's love that I better understand God and the presence of God in my life. Today many others brought themselves to the cross and as we meet on Sunday morning to celebrate we will do so with glad hearts and a lighter load!